Sony SDM-S75A

Sony’s LCD monitors are sharply divided into two classes: HS & HX series and S & X series. The letter H means the monitor has a fancy-looking but less functional case, while the models without this letter in the name have a classic stern-looking case that is more appropriate on a work desk. Inside each series, the letter S denotes a junior model and the letter X, a senior model.

Now you can read the model name: the SDM-S75A is an entry-level monitor with a case of classic design.

Despite its rather tall stand that is made as a vertical pole, the monitor doesn’t permit to change the height of the screen or pivot it into portrait mode. You can only adjust the screen tilt, like with any other LCD monitor. The screen bezel is thin, but the monitor doesn’t look compact due to the thickness of its case. On the contrary, it looks massive and stout.

There is only an analog input here; the power adapter is integrated into the case.

The monitor is controlled with the buttons on the left of the screen. This is handy as you can seize on the edge of the monitor and use your thumb to press the buttons. The onscreen menu, on the contrary, isn’t quite user-friendly. It is Sony’s typical dual-menu structure which does not remember the last changed option. An interesting feature is that you can control the screen brightness independently with the matrix and with the backlighting lamps (this is a characteristic feature of Sony’s monitors, too). There is also an option of precise gamma compensation adjustment with a step of 0.2. The ECO button serves to quickly switch between several backlight-brightness presets.

By default, the matrix brightness parameter is set at 50% and the contrast and backlight brightness at 100%. I measured the response time at these settings since the image is downright unusable at the maximum matrix brightness. By choosing 0% matrix brightness, 95% contrast and 0% backlight brightness I achieved a white brightness of 100nit.

What’s curious, I couldn’t find any traces of pulse-width modulation when adjusting the backlight brightness. It seems that the backlighting intensity is changed through changing the current of the lamps. This is indirectly confirmed by the fact that the backlight brightness setting doesn’t affect the real brightness of the screen too much.